Vatican Radio

Vatican Radio is the official broadcasting services of the Vatican. All official communication of Vatican, including Vatican news, is made through the Vatican Radio. The radio was set up in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, and it offers its programs in 47 different languages today. The broadcasting is sent out on short wave, medium wave, FM, satellite and the internet. The Vatican Radio served as a major source of news for the Allies during the World War II and the rise of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

Today, the Vatican Radio programming is produced by over two hundred journalists who are located in sixty one countries across the world. The Vatican Radio produces more than 42, 000 hours of simultaneous broadcasting covering international news, religious celebrations, comprehensive programs and music. Thus the Vatican Radio does not broadcast programs associated with Vatican City or Vatican News alone’ it is also a source of international news. Currently, the general director of the Vatican Radio is Father Federico Lombardi, S.J.

The Vatican Radio started its broadcasting on 12th February, 1931 with the call sign HVJ on two shortwave frequencies. The first direct was physicist Giuseppe Gianfranceschi, who was also the president of the academia dei Nuovi Lincei. A permanent microwave link was established between the Vatican Palace and the summer resident of the papacy, Castel Gandolfo in 1933. In 1936, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recognized Vatican Radio as a “special case” and it authorized its broadcasting with no geographical limits.

During the year 1939 when the Catholic Church was under oppression in Poland, Pope Pius XII decided to use Vatican Radio to provide information regarding the condition of the church in Poland. At the time of World War II, the Vatican Radio’s news broadcasts were banned in Germany. By then the Vatican Radio was operating in four languages.

The Vatican Radio expanded its services to 18 languages in 1948. Thereafter, Vatican continued expanding its broadcasting services to various regions including Africa, Oceania, Europe, Far East and Latin America. Vatican Radio was among the 23 founding broadcasting organizations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950.

In 2009, the Vatican Radio’s cost had raised to 21.4m euros a year and this led to the announcement that Vatican Radio would start to broadcast commercial advertisements. However, all the advertisements had to meet high moral standards. The Vatican Radio also made experimental television broadcasts in 1930s. however, a regular satellite television service began in 1990s.

There has also been a controversy facing the Vatican Radio Santa Maria di Galeria transmitter site. Some local residents where the transmitter is sited have claimed that the non-ionizing radiation from the site has had some effects on their health and some medical researchers have linked the electromagnetic radiation from the antennas and excess risk of leukemia and lymphomas in small children. However, the Vatican Radio has opposed these claims.

Therefore, if you want to get the latest Vatican news, then Vatican Radio is the station to listen. You will get comprehensive news about Vatican and also international news. The station has competent news reporters who collect news and interview persons from all parts of the world.